Trump made a tepid statement on Saturday, August 12, after the "Unite the Right" debacle in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the death of 32-year-old anti-Nazi demonstrator Heather Heyer, condemning violence "on all sides." On Monday, nearly 48 hours later, after tweets and statements by prominent Republicans (and of course many Democrats) criticizing Trump's failure to address the situation adequately, and huge media pressure, Trump finally denounced the KKK and neo-Nazis. Now -- surprise, surprise -- all his bootlickers and sycophants are full-throated in their criticism of the KKK and neo-Nazis!
I saw a TV interview in which Arizona State Treasurer Jeff DeWitt, responding to a question of whether or not the president had gone far enough, that no one can ever go far enough in denouncing these groups. That's an argument that would have carried a lot more moral weight and authority had he made it on Saturday or Sunday. And I wonder: Had Trump not made the remarks that he did on Monday, would DeWitt have taken that stand on Tuesday? Rhetorical question -- I think I know the answer.
He and the rest of the Trump claque take their direction from the leader. The fact is that there's a moral vacuum at the top, and Trump's spineleless supporters will not do the right thing until he does -- which in many cases is going to be a long time coming.
Anthony (the Mooch) Scaramucci said it, and though he wasn't referring to Trump, it's a great fit: The fish rots from the head down.
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